Seasides and Country Paths
by Rowan Prime
Summary: Follow this long line adventure of three friends hailing from a small settlement in Demacia as they let the seasides and country paths ahead of them decide where they go next and what new things they will find.
1. Chapter 1 - A Precarious Beginning

My whole body felt heavy... I could feel warm liquid covering me and the ground I was lying upon; blood. The world looked sideways to me, and my vision was very blurry, only able to make out blended colors of green, lighter green, and even darker green.

 _Where am I again?_ A voice came through my ears as that thought popped into my head. It sounded feminine, and urgent, and distant; as if I was hearing the sounds of the voice from below the surface of water. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't make out what the voice was saying. In fact, the harder I tried, the more I just wanted to close my eyes and drift off into sleep.

Suddenly I felt my body jerk over violently as pain shot through me, pain which brought my hearing and my sight back to their normal sharpness. A girl stood over top of me, braided brown hair which slung over her shoulders down towards me now, covered in soot and tossed from all the singes that covered not only her hair but her fair white skin among her face as well. Bright green eyes stared down at me in fear and desperation as her mouth continued to move. Finally, I could understand what she was saying.

"Danut! Get up!" _Right, my name was Danut._ The girl's face was streaked in tears as she slung my left arm over her shoulder, bringing me to my feet allowing me to catch a full visual of my environment. Dense jungle and flora surrounded us as countless segments of it were warped in thorns, dead vines, and even fire which threatened to swallow the rest of the surroundings whole.

Memory shot back to me in that moment as I looked between the girl, Vera, and the third figure who was crawling up beside me, a boy who looked to be in his late teen years, with brown hair that no longer showed any shape, burnt off on one side revealing deep burns on his skin, clutching the socket where his left arm used to be with his right. Aeron.

All three of us breathing heavily, I looked back forward to the fourth and final figure that stood in front of us. A monstrous feminine figure wreathed in thorn and vine, sleek and maniacal eyes stared at us through the maze of plant life which surrounded her like a blanket, seeming to move on its own, swallowing not only the separate living jungle around us, but also smothering out the torrential flames around us like it was nothing but dirt.

My body almost broken and my energy exhausted, I felt no way me and my friends could get out this adventure. _Perhaps this was where our story ended? To think of all the places we had seen before this, all the people we had met, fought, and loved along this path._ I know this sounds cliche, but my life really did flash before my eyes in this very moment, and it all started back in my home of Uwendale...

* * *

The morning on this day in Uwendale brought what was normally the coldest day of the year. Located high up in the northern mountains of my homeland, Demacia, this small settlement was more accommodated towards hunting and farming. My parents, both being well-known farmers of the town urged and expected I would one day carry on the legacy they were leaving behind, but I had absolutely no interest in it as I found myself walking the frost-covered paths of Uwendale.

My breath coalesced like dense mist right in front of me as I exhaled and the faintest hints of snowfall was still present in the air. _Yep, winter's coming. Great_. This time of the year was usually the one I enjoyed the least, since the freezing cold and deep snow always cut off most of the activities me and my few friends did.

"Danut! There you are! We've been looking for you!" _Speaking of which._ I planted both of my feet together, each wearing a thick, fur cavalier boot as I turned to face directly behind me at the two people I knew oh so well.

Vera stood in front of Aeron as she held his hand behind her. _No doubt she dragged him here as much as he came of his own free will._

With braided brown hair that dangled past her shoulder, she wore several assortments of thick furs ranging from grey to brown. Alive and green eyes stared right into me as if she knew exactly what I was thinking about while two tiny tusk earrings dangled from her ears.

From the most that I know about Vera - or as much as she was willing to admit to me - she is not a naturally born Demacian. A couple years older than me, she grew up in the southern areas of Freljord in fact to a small tribe who she says was known for violence and brandishing a "survival of the fittest" mentality. One day, the tribe set out to raid Uwendale itself - another thing that Uwendale is well-known for - intent on stealing any supplies we had and claiming this land as their own, but they had failed and were even massacred.

Vera had been left along among the bodies in the cold with nowhere to go, at least until a Demacian female of the village noticed her as the corpses were being tossed out of the town's limits, and took her in as her own child. The woman's name was Lehen, and this is still where Vera resides to this day.

As for that boy standing behind her, sporting a stance like he has no idea what's going on or where he is, Aeron and I have been childhood friends since we were very young. We both grew up with a large fascination for adventure and exploration coming from similar households to each other, since Aeron's father acts as one of the few mountain rangers that serve the best protection Uwendale can give and expects his son to carry on his image. He lost his mother shortly after his birth from what his father's told me - strangely enough, me and that man are great friends.

Add in Vera a couple years after we and Aeron met, and our sense for exploring grew evermore infinite, as well as Aeron's beard. Now in our twenties, Vera slightly ahead of us, we now constantly venture outside the settlement, in search of new things to find. Although we've done this so much that everything around us seems recognizable now, and with this winter coming in again, I don't know if we'll be able to go out very often...

Giving a soft sigh, I wave back at my two friends, "Hey you two!"

Vera smiled brightly at me while Aeron simply gave a soft wave back at me. _Well someone doesn't seem happy right now._

Freeing Aeron's hand from her grasp, she rushed over to me and clasped her hands on my shoulders. "You know what day it is right?"

"Cold?" I responded, feeling more of a need to make at least one of them laugh than really give a serious answer.

"No dummy!" She slapped the small of my back in a playful manner, leaving me to think how much stronger than me she actually was, before she continued. "Today's the day of the winter solstice! You know, the day where the night shines the brightest and the stars come out the most?"

"Oh yeah," I ruffled my hair as I gave it a thought, staring up at the sky which did indeed look darker than usual, "guess I had completely forgotten that it was coming up."

The winter solstice, also known as the Night of the Winged Stars, is in reference to a former villager of the our town named Quinn whose ferocity and determination earned her a ticket out to the rest of Demacia, and the title of Demacia's Wings. A hero of the nation, it is said she rides upon an Azurite Eagle and slays Demacia's enemies before they even know what did the slaying.

 _Must be nice, getting to roam around the lands of the nation and see as much as you want._

Deciding it best to pocket those thoughts for now, I met Vera's gaze before I spoke up. "So, what does this mean for today then?"

"Well actually, I've been planning on this for a while now." In that moment, she hushed her voice a little as she leaned closer to my ear. "I've already shown Aeron, and I want to show you this too, you'll love it."

Tempted to play along with this hush-hush conversation, I also leaned in to cover my voice. "Vera, if it's another hiding place just outside the town, then I'll be very surprised." Indeed, we had come across every piece of land outside Uwendale that I could think of, so I highly doubted there was anything else we hadn't found.

Aeron joined the two of us, reluctant to lean in as me and Vera were though. To this I noticed those around us in the roads moving to and from either with carts or by foot. I noticed a couple carts passing by us carrying festive colors and decorations while other villagers were dressed up more colorful than most days. _Yep, it's definitely the winter solstice._ Breaking that thought, I looked back toward Vera who spoke.

"It's not a place stupid!" She bopped my head with the palm of her hand playfully before she rose the index finger of that same hand up to her forehead. "It's an idea."

Instinctively, I cocked an eyebrow at this statement. "Go o~on?" I urged, curiosity beginning to take over me.

"I knew you wanted too!" She whisper shouted inches from my face, before taking both my hands in hers and dashing down the street with me in tow. Aeron was now following us a couple feet behind.

"Aeron, what's she talking about?" I shouted back at my friend, knowing Vera was in a state of consciousness that meant she wouldn't listen to anything I said. The gate to this cart just sealed and I was along for the ride if I liked it or not.

Brashly, he looked away from the two of us. "You'll see when we get there." The tone he delivered that sentence with sounded very unenthusiastic, which I knew Aeron very much wasn't, but it also posed a sense of curiosity like I felt. It was as if Aeron was still trying to decide on what he thought about what Vera had shown him.

Darting past other villagers and horse-drawn carts, we were standing in front of Vera's house before I even knew it.

"What exactly is here waiting for us Vera?" I asked, fully aware that she would tell me-

"Just wait." _Predictable._

Leading me and Aeron up to the door of her home which we had been inside oh so many times, it was to our surprise that Vera's adopted mother, Lehen stepped out of the house. A slightly taller figure than the rest of us, she wore a thick black fur coat with a silver cloak draped over her shoulder, the hood up above her head. Her hair, long and blonde, was braided into a single pony tail which she wrapped around her neck in the collar of the coat like a scarf. If there was anything Lehen knew how to be, it was how to wear appropriate clothing while still maintaining a wonderful physique.

Slightly startled, she took in our presence, glancing between each of us. "Vera? What brings you and your friends to our home?" Reaching back into the doorway, she brought her arm back out holding a small shortbow which she slung over her shoulder.

"There's something I've been wanting to show Danut that I just finished today." She gave her mother a smile, who returned it, now fastening the quiver to the belt on her hip.

"Oh are you now?" She leaned in close to Vera. "Well then you might have to show me as well sometime hm?"

I saw Vera pause then for a second, as if her attention had directed to somewhere else than her mother, before she looked back in Lehen's eyes. "Of course!"

Lehen bopped Vera on the nose before giving her a hug who also returned the gesture. "That's my girl." Letting go of Vera, she began to walk past us. "I'm off to hunt down some food for tonight's feast." She stopped, glancing back towards us, specifically Vera. "Vera, you're welcome to come along if you'd like." Her voice echoed a feeling that resembled a kind of hopefulness she knew was misplaced.

Vera glanced away from Lehen back towards the house. "That's OK mom, I have things I gotta do too."

A slight pause between everyone before Lehen turned away from us and began moving again. "Very well then. I'll be back before sun down!" Glancing back at us one more time, she waved.

"It's the night of winged stars mom! It's already sun down!" Lehen laughed as she began to vanish behind the various other buildings as we heard her echoes.

"Don't go breaking anything in our home you two!"

We all looked between each other, Aeron looking like he was trying to hold back a grinning smile, which Vera noticed.

"What's so funny beard boy?" She playfully interjected at Aeron, lightly nudging him on the shoulder who responded with a light laugh. _That's the happiest I've seen him all day._

Vera looked back towards me as she opened the door back up to her house, nodding in the doorway's direction. "Come on, you'll love what I want to show you."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Whenever I introduce a character not introduced from previous chapters, this section will contain the correct pronunciations of their names. On that note, please feel free to leave a review of what you thought about this! I'd really appreciate it!**

 **Danut -** "Day-newt"

 **Vera -** "Veer-uh"

 **Aeron -** "Air-in"

 **Lehen** \- "Lee-hon"


	2. Chapter 2 - The Adventure Begins

The inside of Vera's house still looked as familiar as it usually did. The first thing you notice is the long hallway with two large, open-frame doorways on each side of you, several segments of animal heads mounted on the hallway walls along with a mount for a short bow accompanied by a quiver. Of course, those two were missing for obvious reasons.

Peering left, you find a small kitchen style room, with a single furnace surrounded by numerous end tables used for counters, one slightly larger table standing at the other end of the room, three chairs slid underneath it.

Going right, you would find a slightly larger room, a small living area with a small fireplace as its headpiece with two chairs layered in furs in front of it. Two sets of doors stood directly across from the doorway, leading to both Vera's room, and her mother's. This was the room Vera led me into as she took my hand in both of hers, urging me past the fireplace to the set of stairs that sat out of sight just behind it.

These stairs lead down to the small dug out basement that Lehen had told me she dug out even years before she found Vera. "If there's one thing I can do, it is fight. By building a choke point like this, any person who wants to test my strength will have to do it one at a time." Is what she had told me. Of course, shortly after she took in Vera, the space had quickly become a small hiding place for Vera and her antics.

"It's down here." She said, still tugging me along like I didn't get to make a choice otherwise. I looked back at Aeron who was still trailing us close behind. He met my gaze and thinned his lips, raising his eyebrows at me and itching his beard. _Why does it feel more tense than it needs to be?_

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Vera quickly flung the door open as she ushered me inside. Looking around it was still the same as she always left it. A small, roughly dug out cube of a room, where dust and dirt was still floating and falling in some places, it smelled just like that. Dust and dirt. A small square table sat in the middle of the room with an unlit lantern dangling just above it. Darkness obscured the rest of what I could see, but I knew where everything still was. The walls still had different pieces of parchment strung to it with varying pieces of Vera's "artwork and literature." Lots of different knick-knacks were sprawled across the room, whether it was tips of blades from weapons, broken arrowheads, teeth from different animals, or even different colored furs.

Vera sauntered over to the table and reached for the lamp, igniting its flame and bringing light to the room; my eyes immediately caught the massive object that sat on top of the table, previously obscured by the darkness. Now leaning over, Vera ran her hand along its length before she lifted it up in front of her to me. In her hands, she held an overly sized knapsack with more pockets than I could count. Several arrays of adventuring gear were also strapped to the sides of the backpack, most notably a large bedroll strapped to the top of it and a dense, crooked walking staff attached to its side.

Still unsure of what to say, Vera set down the knapsack on the table and looked at me. I felt Aeron's hand rest upon my right shoulder. Vera was the first one who spoke in that silence.

"When I was found by my mom, it was during the evening when Uwendale was getting rid of the corpses from the raid." I raised an eyebrow, she continued. "The thing is, everyone didn't seem at all interested in the equipment and clothing that the Freljordians carried." I remembered when she still called them her people, but nowadays she's drifted away from that path. "When the corpses were taken away, all the stuff on them went with, and with the cold climates Uwendale always gets, it's not surprising that they simply just froze over."

 _I think I'm beginning to understand what she's saying._

"So all this stuff here," I gestured to the knapsack, "is from the Freljordians so many years ago?" Glancing her eyes past me then back to me, she nodded. "So... what is this all for then?"

Vera opened up the main pocket of the knapsack before she showed it to me, revealing a wide variety of different survival gear. A tinderbox lay inside the pocket along with what looked like small torches, rope, and other various items too far deep inside to make out. "I've been spending the last week or so gathering as many items off of them as I could."

"For what?"

At that moment, Aeron brushed past me between the two of us, looking at her. "Are you sure about this Vera?"

She looked at Aeron, her expression changing to that of a distressed person, before looking back at me with a serious face.

"Let's get out of here and make our own adventure."

* * *

Silence must have ensued for several minutes, because it felt like an eternity before I crossed my arms and widened my eyes at her.

"Is this is a serious request?" I was immensely confused, unsure of why she would want to leave here for good.

"You told me yourself that you don't want to do what your parents do, same with you Aeron," She gestured to both of us, "and we've all been around your parents. They don't necessarily enjoy us going off by ourselves and neglecting the 'family business.'" She finished that last part with air quotes.

 _Is she actually serious about this?_ "What about Lehen? You want to just leave her behind?" My voice was a little but more curt than I think I expected there. She answered only with a pause, looking down at the floor before meeting my gaze.

"Of course not. I love my mother Danut, you know that. But look at me, I don't do anything around here and this small town is barely ever noticed. I believe we're meant for so much more." She began to walk around the table, as if she was some general giving some inspiring speech to her soldiers. "We could have the chance to explore lands the nation itself hasn't even seen yet! More so than that, we could find the opportunity to make a name for ourselves and our families." She finished walking around the table, ending right in front of me. "I wanted to leave right before the winter season started, that way we wouldn't have to worry too much about the cold."

Our eyes peered right into each others', as if one pair was at war with the other but not wanting to fight. Slowly resting her hands on mine, I saw a tear start to form at the edge of her left eye. "Please Danut, I don't want to stay cooped up in this one place forever, but I don't want to go off on my own without you guys."

Completely now unsure of what answer _I_ even wanted, I glanced past Vera towards Aeron, who was leaning up against the table, arms folded. "What about you Aeron?"

He leaned forward off the table, walking over to the both of us. "She dropped this news on me early this morning. I've been dealing with it ever since."

I cocked an eyebrow his way. "And?"

He gave a soft sigh, sharing a look between Vera and him. "I decided I'll always go where you go Danut." Still looking at Vera.

That answer made my heart sink more than I had expected it to, because now this future of us three rested on my answer and my answer alone. Thoughts began to spiral around in my head, thoughts of my parents and how loving of parents they are even though their expectations of me are misplaced and misused; thoughts of what would happen if we three just vanished from here; thoughts of what terrible things could happen to us out in the world... thoughts of what new things we could find out in the world. In that instant, anxiousness and nervousness turned all in one to curiosity and excitement. It had been so long since me, Vera, and Aeron had gone on an adventure with each other to seek out something new. The thought of this once again becoming a reality really motivated me.

"Let's do it." The words escaped my mouth before I even realized.

Vera's arms were around me in a flash, hugging me tight and squealing with joy. She was sputtering out words so fast I couldn't even understand what she was saying. Finally she released me from her grasp.

"OK, OK, let's leave as soon as we can."

"I still need to get my own stuff." I responded. Aeron seconded that statement.

"That's why I said as soon as we can geniuses. Go pack as much stuff as you can as quickly as you can, I'll meet you guys out at the Shotun Gate that leads to the trails up and over the mountains." She began to spring into action before I grasped her arm, whirling her back around to face me.

"First..." I let out a sigh. "Let's at least leave a note for our families. If we are going to do this, I'd rather they know the truth rather than grieve thinking we were probably dead."

Silently, they both nodded before we all sprung into our different "assignments."

I was back out on the village paths and rushing towards my home the next thing I knew. The cold air whipped against the side of my face, it felt so refreshing.

 _We're going to go out and see the world!_ This single thought exhilarated me as I ran past others in my village. Nearly toppling someone as I rounded the last corner to my home, I finally arrived at my door.

The inside of my home sounded quiet, and the architecture of it gave the same feeling. Quiet. Not too many colors were depicted across the home which looked like an upside-down galley and only a couple shielded candles were lit near the front entrance. My parents are well-known farmers in Uwendale, so during most of the year they are almost never home, always out working the fields to provide a good harvest. No doubt they were out storing whatever food they had gathered to prepare for the winter season right now.

Feeling no need to sneak into my own home, I rushed in and began ransacking my room for vital equipment and gear I would need. Grabbing the knapsack my mother had made me for one of my birthdays, I began stuffing it with anything of mine I thought would be useful. Food and water gear, a couple articles of clothing, my bedroll I used as a pillow on my bed, a set of skies that I kept tucked away under it, a hooded lantern with a small jar of oil, my notebook and quill along with its ink, and also a water-skin. I was barely able to fit and fasten it all to my knapsack, which was _a lot_ smaller than Vera's.

Finally, I tore a piece out of my notebook before I dipped it in my ink and began writing.

 _Dear mom and dad,_

 _I've always loved you guys, and I know that you have always loved me._

 _There have been countless times when I wanted to take you both on the_

 _adventures that me and my friends went on, and I always knew that your_

 _thoughts of my well-being were well placed. But, I never could show the_

 _same determination for agriculture as you guys could, and it sometimes_

 _drove me further away from it when you would discourage the thoughts_

 _and visions I had with me, Vera, and Aeron. I'm sorry to say, but the times_

 _when we were small children have long since past, and remaining here for the_

 _rest of our lives just isn't what either of us want. The three of us are leaving to_

 _make an adventure for ourselves, and hopefully even come back one day with_

 _endless tales of things that would make even you two proud! I love you both!_

 _~ Danut_

Setting the quill down, I placed everything back into my knapsack while I placed the note on the main eating table and was just about to make my way out the door before I caught a glimmer out of the corner of my eye. Resting behind a chair that sat near the main door, was a sword. I recognized this sword as I sauntered up to it, lifting it out from behind.

My dad had made me this sword earlier in my life, telling me that one day I would need this sword more than ever to protect what I love. Of course, I remember wanting nothing to do with a sword during this time too, so I paid about as much attention to it as a toddler would his vegetables.

Wiping away the dust on the blade, I examined its shape more closely than ever. A slender short-sword, its blade gleamed in the light where the dust was wiped away, and the hilt was layered in a polished leather which was framed by soft furs at its pommel. It looked more like a Freljordian had made this sword rather than a Demacian.

 _Dad always did want me to be able to protect myself._

Quickly fastening the sword to the side of my knapsack, I set out of the house back onto the village roads toward the Shotun Gate, one of the few notable landmarks in Uwendale. Known more for telling time than acting as a gate, it's adorned with a large sun dial at its corner stone, where an open circle in the stone work rests. They say that if you look through that at the right time of day, you can see the sun resting perfectly within the circle itself. Of course, looking at the ever darkening skies, the sun was well past that point now.

Vera and Aeron came into view beside each other, both sitting next to the gate. They stood up as they noticed me making my way towards them. Vera still wore the same knapsack she had shown us, but Aeron was carrying one that was almost the same size as hers. A short spear was also fastened vertically to the side of his while a short bow and a quiver containing several arrows rested around his arms.

 _Geez, way to make me look like I have nothing._

That thought was diminished as I felt Vera take her hand in mine as she lead us out of the gate, peering upwards at the close but distant mountain peeks ahead divided by the coniferous tree lines ahead of us. We simply walked in silence. The more steps we took, the more ambitious I grew. As we past into the dense, uphill forest, we kept moving until Uwendale was no longer in sight, not even the smokestacks from the tops of the structures were in sight. It was at that point we stopped; Vera was the one who spoke first.

"So Danut." She looked back at me, the brightest smile plastered on her face that I had ever seen, eyes glittering green like never before. "Where should we go first?"

* * *

 **Author's Note: Thanks for continuing to keep up with this story so far! I know we're only two chapters in but I plan to take this story to as long a length as I can. Chapter updates right now will be very sporadic but common since I am on a winter break right now and feeling very inspired to write. But in January, my university will be starting up again, so chapters then will come out at least once a week.**

 **Shotun** \- "Show-tin"


	3. Chapter 3 - Newcomings

About three days had past since we had left Uwendale before we were nearing the other side of the mountain pass, which would act as the gateway into the rest of the world.

Aeron's early childhood growing up with his father seemed to have left a mark on him, since he chose to act as our primary hunter and gatherer, already carrying some leftover meat from wild animals he had hunted the night before. It may have been less than half a week, but Aeron's beard had grown so much it made it seem like we were gone for weeks rather than days.

Vera of course frolicked in the lightly snowed ground around us, continuing to relish the freedom we gave ourselves while I took up the "front" of the group. The ground crunched underneath my feet as we made our way through the lightly forested area surrounded by towering peaks of frozen rock and stone.

As per the cold temperatures, the colors around us looked very bleak and grey, but even so we could see the faint glimmer of the sun just beyond the massive peaks in front of us. We were getting very close, and I was very excited, as I'm sure Vera and Aeron were as well.

"Wait." Aeron said, abruptly through our silence. The both of us stopped moving and turned back towards him.

 _Not good. A change of tone in Aeron like this means something bad._

We stood, not moving even a single inch as we all listened to our surroundings. We could hear the breeze of the wind spiraling through the trees and the rock cliff sides around us. The faint chirping of wild life above and around us, but nothing out of the ordinary, until I saw them.

Several pairs of slender, yellow eyes peering at us through the obscured foliage to our left among the trees and shrubs. Eyes that were sinister, and hungry.

Aeron put his arm out in front of us, as if he would single-handedly protect us from this. I lowered his arm, joining him at his side all the while shaking my head speaking words I didn't need to.

 _We're in this together Aeron._

As Vera joined at Aeron's left, taking hold of the spear on his pack, the figures began to emerge from their watching places. Large, black feline creatures revealed themselves, two large fanged teeth hanging down from the top of their mouths which pointed to the rest of their body. Six legs supported the beasts' weights, three on each side while two tails were sunk low to the ground, as if agitated.

 _Mountain fangs._

Then we all could hear it. The low, aggressive growling that was emitting from each of these beasts, like we had all just been caught dancing on their families' graves.

There were three of them that stood against us now as Aeron knocked an arrow into his shortbow and I readied my short-sword in front of me.

 _We chose this life... time to fight for it._

Suddenly, one of the beasts leaped out against us as the three of us scattered to the sides to avoid the attack. I now found myself split off in an instant from my other two friends as one in the back looked towards me, the other two focusing their attention on Vera and Aeron.

Without hesitation, it leaped at me the same way the first one did, but I saw this coming and ducked out of the way, trying to keep my footing so as not to fall to the ground.

I may not have grown up a fighter, but everyone from Uwendale grows up a survivor, and one of the crucial things we're taught is about the beasts that live around us, specifically the mountain fangs, which are notorious carnivorous hunters that reside around us.

Like most beasts, they gain a big advantage by knocking their prey prone so as to significantly reduce their agility and render them immobile, and mountain fangs are known to be the ones that capitalize on those opportunities the most.

The problem is, even if not knocked down, they are still very dangerous beasts that can easily defend themselves with their razor sharp claws and teeth.

The mountain fang leaped at me once again, aiming straight for my arm holding my sword. Second guessing my movements, I raised my sword up to block its teeth as it impacted into me.

The blow almost sent me straight to my back but I dug into the ground as hard as I could with my feet, now watching as a large set of jaws clamped across my blade, its eyes staring death into me maybe a foot from my face.

In rapid succession, it sent one of its claws right towards me, which scraped across my left arm, tearing not only several layers of the fur clothing I was wearing, but also my skin too. The pain was gut wrenching as I began to feel the warm liquid pour out along my arm.

Trying to use that pain to fuel my strength, I shoved as hard as I could against the mountain fang, knocking it off my sword and back several feet as it landed on all six, now hissing in my direction.

Clasping my left arm from the pain, I took a quick glance over towards my friends.

About 6 feet from me, Vera was currently jabbing at one of them from a distance using the spear's length to her advantage while Aeron seemed to have dropped his shortbow to the ground, now locked in combat with the third mountain fang, using two arrows as if they were daggers.

I re-centered my eyes just in time to duck out of the way of another pounce from the mountain fang attacking me, sailing straight over my head as it landed directly behind me.

As it began to spin itself around back towards me, I used that instant as my chance. Charging forward, I dashed as hard as I could, grasping the hilt of the sword with both my hands tightly, aiming the blade straight at the beast's abdominal area.

To my surprise, the blade sank deep into its body as it gave out a howling roar. I pulled the sword back out, now covered in a hue of blood, lunging forward to make for another jab, but it dashed out of my reach too quickly as I pierced the air in front of where it was.

It now stood a couple feet from me, just in front of the bushes it had once hid within, us now waiting for one to make a move.

I heard another howl from behind me from one of the other mountain fangs. As I glanced behind me, that was when I felt a full force knock me to my back; it was all I could do to use my sword to block the mountain fang's bites which now stood towering over me, intent on making one bite the fatal strike to kill.

In an all out frenzy it clawed the sword out of my grasp, the weapon clattering several feet to my right.

It made another lunge at my throat; acting off pure instinct, I grasped both the upper and lower jaws with my free arms, inches from me. Slobber dripped over me and the scent of blood and meat filled my whole space as my left arm strained against the pain from holding back the full force of this beast.

My arms began to give in, slowly becoming overpowered from the hulking mass of this mountain fang.

I clenched my eyes shut and continued to give it all I had to keep it from me. _HELP!_

 _Whiff Whiff_

I heard two soft whistles streak across the air in my direction, before I felt two impacts coming from the mountain fang.

The next thing I knew, the beast had immediately backed up off me as it began wincing sporadically in pain. Using this chance to spring to my feet, I saw what had happened. Two arrows protruded from the fang's side where it was now trying to grasp at viciously with its mouth trying to remove it. Unfortunately for it, the arrows were too far back for its head to reach.

I looked back and saw Aeron, who holding his shortbow, was helping Vera to her feet. One mountain fang lay motionless next to her, the spear sticking up into the air, jabbed far into its body. I barely noticed the second one as it was already in the midst of fleeing back into the forest behind us.

At that second, my survival instincts caught back up to me. Rushing over, I picked up my sword, whirling to point it where I last saw the one trying to eat me.

Doing nothing more than staring me down at this point, it was backing away from me into the woods as my two friends rushed over to join me at my side. You could hear them both gasping for as much air as they could. I can't blame them, any encounter like this would take the air out of people.

A stab wound in one side of it, and two arrows in the other, the fang gave off one last growl at us before it vanished into the forest behind it...

None of us moved for what felt like minutes. It wasn't uncommon in these areas around Uwendale for predators to flee temporarily, only to come back with a larger pack to take down tougher prey.

Our breathing was about the only thing I could hear in this moment, and it wasn't until I collapsed to my knees from the pain in my arm that the silence was broken.

"Danut! Hang on!" I wanted to tell Vera to keep her voice down, but I was too busy clutching my arm as blood continued to spill onto the ground at my side.

I felt my body lifted off the ground as Aeron tugged me over and sat me against one of the trees. Leaning down, he looked at me smirking.

"Now why did you have to go get yourself all cut up within a few days of our adventure?"

I playfully tried to retaliate by lightly punching his face with my left fist, but the pain made me wince as I tried to raise it. Instinctively, he leaned forward, resting my arm back on the ground.

"Whoa bud, let's not move that one." He began to roll up the now red colored sleeve of my fur coat. "Let's wait until we get it bandaged first and wait an hour or too..." He got a good look at my arm, then frowned. "Not good..."

"Don't tell me that. That's not what you're supposed to say in this situation."

Hearing Vera's footsteps approach at a fast pace, I saw her kneel down in front of me next to Aeron, a roll of fresh bandages in her hands already in the process of being unrolled.

"Let me see them." Aeron said, taking the bandages from Vera as he began to wrap my arm several times with it.

I felt Vera's hand hold on to my good one. As we look at each other, we both share a smile, hers much sadder than mine. "You'll be OK Danut."

I cocked a smirk at Aeron. "See? She knows how to comfort a patient."

"And who's the one putting on the bandages to stop the bleeding?"

 _Ugh, he has a point._

I felt several tugs on my left arm as I saw Aeron tieing off two different knots in the bandages before he lightly patted my shoulder.

"That should do it." My arm looked like it had been mummified.

Aeron glanced over at Vera. "Try and make a small fire for now, we'll be here for a-"

"No." Interrupting Aeron's thought, I clambered to my feet, rolling the sleeve of my coat back down.

 _It's just a claw wound on my lower arm, Aeron I'll be fine._ That's what I wanted to say to him, but Aeron was very picky when it came to someone's health. He would've shot down that comment faster than he can shoot arrows.

He folded his arms at me, flashing me a face which said he was my father knowing what was best for me, pausing for a second before he angled his chin towards the mountain pass.

"Alright, but we're going to move slow, nothing crazy."

 _Not like we were on the clock anyway._

"Do we want to take it with us?" Vera asked, wondering about the dead mountain fang she was currently pulling the spear out of. As she did, she walked over and handed it back to Aeron, who pushed it back towards her.

"You may as well keep it." Aeron brushed the shortbow around his shoulder. "One weapon is enough for me. As for that, I think we just want to get past the mountains at this point. Plus we still have food from the previous nights."

Nodding, she rushed over to where my pack lay on the ground, picking it up and lacing it back around my arms for me.

"Let this be a sign farm boy." I smiled back towards Vera who continued. "Don't you go dying on me."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Giving me one last smile that made her green eyes shine, she grabbed her pack before she planted herself in front of the both of us, pointing towards the mountain pass.

"Onward troops!"

Me and Aeron both looked at each other rolling our eyes. Vera's always had an outrageous behavior, and always likes to make as much fun out any given situation as she can. Funny thing, that was what made me feel so drawn to her, like a fish drawn to cool water.

In unison we began moving once again as we marched into the mountain pass. This was the proverbial point of no return, because what lies on the other side is sure to capture our lives for eternity.


End file.
